The Lack of Sleep
by SilverUmbra
Summary: Who knew that his sleeping problem would lead to the biggest confession of his life... PMD2, hero and partner.


_**Well, I beat the main part of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Two... So... I decided to do a little bit of writing for it. Just the main character and partner. In case I wasn't clear, which is likely, Ruin is the hero and Veron the partner. So... Just a little fluff stuff! Hope you like it! :D  
FIC!  
**_

* * *

Veron was going to go insane before morning.

Of course, he always had his doubts about the state of his mind, considering the crazy things he found himself doing, one in which involved putting all faith in a vision that involve him jumping through a waterfall, despite the fact that every ounce of his fire type being said that he was going to be knocked unconscious, then drowned multiple times in a row, if that was even _possible_. Now that he had time to recall, Veron realized that he did a lot of mad, if not stupid, things in his life, all in which usually resulted because a certain someone said so.

Who, you ask?

Amazingly the same person that was keeping the flame-tailed salamander up for the sixth night in a row, which was really paying its toll on his already feverish mind. Just yesterday he found himself asking the Guide Master for a purple pony puppet, which -looking in the corner at said object- he had gotten and now regretted. The beady eyed stare was just one more thing that was going to keep him up, lest he fall into some horrific nightmare that would then result in embarrassment. Again. Yes, Veron had traveled that road multiple times already and had been trampled by a few herds on the way.

But really, the odd actions he committed during his day light disorientation didn't matter as much as the fact that she was there. Right there. The Charmander wasn't sure, but he swore that their beds hadn't always been that close... And that the plant turtle's face hadn't always been so adorable...

That's right, Veron was staring at his partner. Again. It wasn't that creepy, right? He hoped so. Laying on his stomach with his paws propped underneath his head as he stared at his partner in exploration, Veron _really_ hoped so. The last thing he need was for his best friend to think that he was a creep. That wouldn't have been good for either of them.

So, why was he staring at her?

Truthfully, he didn't know.

Veron gave a sigh, tail sparking as the flame lit the room in its gentle glow. Even when he turned to one side and closed his green eyes he could hear her breathing, the soft inhale then exhale of her sleeping mouth. That was more mind ripping than anything else and, jerking his head up, the fire lizard moaned softly before smacking his forehead against one of his claws. All he wanted was a little sleep, yet he knew that this wasn't going to happen with her driving him insane without even trying to. Veron again found himself craning his head to look at the grass type that was sleeping peacefully on her nest of dry straw.

He really was fascinated by her. It was all because of this small creature that was once human that he was where he was now. It was all because of her that he was living his dream- no matter how difficult and scary it was at times. After all, everything seemed a lot less scary when he was behind a fury of vines and razor sharp leaves that his partner was infamous for. He pretty much owed his entire dream to her yet... she didn't ask for a thing in return. She never complained- even when it was freezing cold or when she was hungry or when she was tired- something that Veron had yet to be able to do.

She sure did put up with a lot, and in this she gained her partner's trust entirely. Not that it was worth much, or so he thought. The Charmander reached forward with one paw and found himself stroking her brown shell gently, green eyes half closed in tiredness. If touching his partner for no reason what so ever wasn't stupid enough already, he knew that something worst would come in due time.

"Thank you..."

Sure, he had said that enough already, but he couldn't stop. That was all he could think of saying when things got to their awkwardest, in those little moments when he knew he was blushing and he was bound to blurt something moronic. It was guaranteed, after all. Sleep deprived lizard brain, guaranteed to say something stupid. Always.

"... Thank you... so much..."

What more could he ask for, anyway? He had a best friend that was there for him when he needed it. Which was always. Standing without this Turtwig was like standing without legs. She was his ally in the world, there to lead him where his heart called, where his dream awaited, there to fight by his side when things were their worst. She was his partner in exploration... simple as that.

_Even if you want her to be your life's partner..._

Veron flinched slightly, cursing that voice in his head as his face flushed. That voice always whispered its taunting questions in those silences that followed those moments in those times when partners in training had those emotional events. Like that awkward silence that had followed after that over-sized skunk had dared to hurt the smaller grass type. What had he said again?

* * *

_I couldn't stand against him... even when he hurt you..._

* * *

... Yeah. Just one of those moments when he wished he was mute, or at least had some type of brain to stop him before he spoke and made a fool out of himself. But despite that, the turtle Pokemon always smiled softly in that way with those warm brown eyes that made him feel giddy and like he could take down a legendary any day. And, at the same time, when those eyes filled with pain he was barely able to hold back from burning whatever had dared to hurt her to a crisp. And when he could do nothing, he felt so helpless that he cursed his weakness...

But why? He still didn't know. Really.

Veron sighed softly to himself, green eyes weary as he went to take his claw away from her shell, widening them when one stubby yellow and green paw reached up and placed itself over his claw. Turning his gaze to look at her face, he saw that those large brown eyes were opened halfway, and that she was gazing at him with such softness that he cringed. How such a battle ready Pokemon like her could be so gentle at the end of the day amazed him. Then again, everything about her did.

"Mmm... That felt good." She said quietly, head tilting to the side, thus making her look even more adorable. If that was even possible. Veron stared at her, silent from shock like someone had hit him over the head with a blunt object before a blush started to creep over his face. He quickly turned his head away to hide this.

"Sorry... did I wake you up, Ruin?" he muttered quietly. He always loved saying her name, despite how odd it was. Ruin. How such a word that was usually held as being terrible could now represent someone so important to him... His gaze turned up to the ceiling of the room, where a few ferns managed to grow, clinging to the dirt with their lush roots. Those hadn't been there before, but usually Ruin's presence gathered plants of all kinds. Just another amazing thing about her.

"... Not really... I was just dozing..." she replied, shifting so that she was sitting clumsily on her haunches. She turned her own large brown eyes to look at the flame on her partners tail, more out of interest than fear. Despite her type's fear of all things fire, Ruin felt completely safe around her partner for she knew he would never do anything to hurt her. "... I see you can't sleep again. This is the sixth night, you know."

This statement caused the lizard to jerk his head to look at her, mouth gaping and eyes widening in surprise. "You noticed?!" His stunned cry only brought a chuckle from the grass type turtle.

"Veron. I'm your partner. And I happen to be a very light sleeper." She sighed affectionately, eyes turning to look at him directly while he continued to stare at her."Is something the matter? Well, obviously... but do you want... to talk about it?" She allowed herself to smile gently when he shook his head automatically.

A silence fell.

Ruin suddenly turned her head up, remembering something from just earlier that day. "You know the dimensional scream?" as his eyes turned to her he nodded his head mutely. She continued, voice a whisper."Well... while you were buying things I had another..."

"Really!" He suddenly was on his feet, paws clenched as his tail flared. "What was it?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" The Turtwig only sighed softly at his display.

"... Mmm... I had to... think about it..." she said quietly, pawing at the ground with one stubby paw in slight embarrassment. Veron only stared, for embarrassment was an emotion that the grass type rarely showed. "It was... different..." His stare was intense on her and her head lowered all the more, expression bashful as she started to draw lines on the dirt floors. "I... bumped into someone... I know really well..."

"And...?"

Her eyes suddenly found one of the ferns very interesting. "... I heard a voice... two, actually... One of them was me... I was arguing with him... And then... I suddenly said..." she trailed off, and if it hadn't been more the dimness Veron would have seen her blush. "... that... I loved him..."

Everything in the room froze as if the time gear in there had been stolen. Veron stared, mouth gaping like his jaw had been unhinged as his insides started to eat at each other. Suddenly his heart felt like it was dancing on toxic spikes without any armor and as his wide eyed stare continued on his partner Ruin continued to sink towards the ground.

"... You really feel this way?" he found himself asking. "About this person?" she only nodded her head drearily, brown eyes scrunched close. "Then why are you so miserable about it?" he inquired weakly, that feeling of hopelessness falling over him as he folded his arms in front of his chest. Her eyes darted to him then to the ground again.

"... he doesn't feel the same way."

Veron couldn't help but gape. "How couldn't he?!" his outburst caused Ruin to jerk her head to him again, brown eyes widening in surprise. The Charmander managed to calm down and sat down next to her again, smiling at the wall despite the fact that he wanted to find this guy and burn him to death. "You're awesome, Ruin. I should know. You're smart, funny, brave and-" he winked at her with one large green eye which caused her to blink in surprise. "-very cute." She turned her head away from him at this comment, blushing at the praise.

"Seriously, how could this guy _not _love you back?"

"He just doesn't."

"But how-"

"BECAUSE." Veron shut completely up at the firm tone that had fallen onto her face and voice. Her green, brown and yellow face jerked back down to look at the ground. "Because... it's..." Veron leaned forward, attempting to hear better, to hear the name of the guy that had been able to catch Ruin's wild and dangerous heart. Her eyes turned up to meet his and he realized how close they were, snout to snout. If he moved forward just a little bit... He mentally smacked himself. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts! Bad, bad, BAD!

He didn't even know why he was thinking such thoughts, considering the fact that their relationship was completely platonic...

"... you."

... Or not.

Veron blinked blankly. "Me?" he echoed vacantly, tail burning brighter as his mind registered what was being said. "... You said that you loved... me?" She gave a dreary and weak nod of her head, opening her mouth to spew out an apology for dragging him into this emotion problem. Before she could even mutter one word his paw had come forward to brush her snout.

"Are you saying that you've fallen for me?" he asked playfully, causing the grass type to scowl darkly. He waved one paw up and down as if chasing the look of doom away. The fire lizard suddenly paused, then pinched himself as his head lowered in thought. "I'm not dreaming... am I?" Ruin only shot him an exasperated look before shaking her head while muttering creative curses under her breath. Before she could get to dark and angry however, all thought changed as her partner tackled her, throwing his arms around her neck while pressing his cheek against her own. The pair toppled over, completely destroying Ruin's carefully made bed in an explosion of straw.

"Are you telling me that the girl of my dreams has just admitted that she's hopelessly in love with me and I'm _not _dreaming?!" he asked, rubbing his cheek against hers gently while the grass type continued to sputter and blush. He suddenly pulled away from the embrace, green eyes bright with excitement. "She loves me, she loves me..."

"... Girl of your dreams?" Ruin echoed flatly, causing Veron to jerk out of his chanting to look at her sheepishly while blushing to a ridiculous extent. He quickly looked away and shuffled one foot against the ground.

"Let's just ignore that..."

"Hm." Ruin's confession was not going the way that she had expected. To be honest she expected him to be shocked before ditching her for being a creep. After all, what kind of Pokemon falls in love with their partner in exploration? Their best _friend_? Ruin suddenly looked up at the silent fire type.

"Am I... really cute?" she suddenly asked shyly. Veron brightened drastically before winking and waving one claw at her.

"Duh! My Arceus, Ruin! You're so cute sometimes I can't look at you without going all sparkily eyed!" he plopped down next to her before laying one paw onto her brown shell. She turned her head to look at him curiously. He smiled at her, one of his large genuine smiles that he seemed to use only for her. "... So..."

"Mm?"

"Care to say you love me again? It makes me feel all happy."

She smacked him upside of his head before stalking off to go to sleep. Veron, mumbling slightly under his breath rubbed his head vacantly before curling up onto his own bed and closing his green eyes. As he finally drifted off to sleep his mouth twitched up into a smile, and on the other side of the room Ruin mirrored the same.

Maybe he was insane, to fall in love with his best friend and exploration partner, but that didn't seem to matter just then. Of course he would always follow her without another thought, despite what everything else told him to do. That was just the way it seemed to be.

And hey, he didn't really mind.

* * *

_**So... There we are! Well... I'm off! SU out!  
**_


End file.
